5 Years for Child Porn|on DEA-Issued Laptop

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (CN) – A former Missouri National Guardsman was sentenced Monday to 63 months in federal prison for downloading child pornography on a DEA-issued laptop. Matthew J. Barnes, 34, pleaded guilty in June to possession of child pornography, punishable by up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Overland Park police used file-sharing software to track the location of Barnes’ laptop in 2012, and found it at the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Overland Park, where Barnes worked as an analyst. Detectives found 19 images of child pornography on the government-issued laptop, including “sexually explicit conduct involving prepubescent minors,” according to the plea agreement. Barnes’ attorney wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Barnes had a “rough childhood” and that a clinical psychologist had concluded that he was “not a pedophile and is at low risk to reoffend.” “Defendant has no criminal history prior to this case; there is no indication he ever contacted actual children, nor acted out in a sexual way with minors; nor did he produce any child pornography; he has no history of alcohol or drug use and therefore he is not a danger to the public,” according to the memorandum. Barnes, who is married and has three children, 2, 6 and 8, sought treatment in 2012 for depression, anxiety and “sexual issues,” according to court documents. He has been a stay-at-home father and home-schooled his children since his guilty plea in June. Barnes also must register as a sex offender and serve 5 years of supervised release after prison.